Art Wrap: Nine Exhibitions To See in Sydney This Winter

Head into one of Sydney’s art galleries and museums for striking photography, immersive video works, iconic illustrations and mind-bending sculptures (the shadowy “morph” characters at White Rabbit Gallery). There’s so much to explore, including the upcoming Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and a collection of abstract works by Sydney artist Lesley Dumbrell at the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW).

Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau, AGNSW

If you don’t know Alphonse Mucha by name, you’ll recognise his style. The Czech painter and illustrator left his mark on Paris in the late 1800s with his stylistically feminine and mystical paintings. He was a commercially successful art nouveau artist, often depicting flowers, plants and the changing seasons. In this exhibition you’ll see his iconic poster art, illustrations, photographs and more. While you’re there, drop in to see the Archibald, Sulman and Wynne Prizes – including the winning portrait of writer Tim Winton by Sydney artist Laura Jones.
Until September 22. $35

Barbara McGrady: Ngiyaningy Maran Yaliwaunga Ngaara-li (Our Ancestors Are Always Watching), Campbelltown Arts Centre

Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Murri Yinnah photographer Barbara McGrady’s major solo exhibition is a celebration of Blak strength, resilience and truth captured in the artist’s works over five decades. McGrady began taking photos aged 15 and her photography offers a visual record of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander activism, from pictures of a young protester with a looming police presence in the background, to an empowering knockout punch in a boxing ring. At the centre of the exhibition is a powerful multiscreen work originally commissioned for Nirin, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, presented at Campbelltown Arts Centre in 2020. It’s a must-see.
Until October 13. Free

Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Australian National Maritime Museum

On loan from the Natural History Museum in London, this exhibition focuses on the beauty and devastation of the natural world and advocates for wildlife conservation. Its standout images include a buffalo sparring with a lioness as her cubs watch on, a killer whale taking its last breath beached on the shore and the winning shot by French photographer Laurent Ballesta of a golden horseshoe crab taken near Pangatalan Island in the Philippines. The exhibition has images from 16 categories, including “underwater” and “photojournalism”.
Until November 10. $25.

Laozi’s Furnace, White Rabbit Gallery

This larger-than-life exhibition at Chippendale’s White Rabbit includes shadow-like black “morph” characters crafted from modelling clay in Lu Pingyuan’s Shadow of the Shadow (2021) and a (seemingly collapsed) tank stitched from leather in He Xiangyu’s Tank Project (2011–2013). It’s all about materiality, and the exhibition – Laozi’s Furnace – invites us to think about immortality and how objects can transform from one shape to another. It’s linked to the idea of immortality explored by alchemists in the Tang dynasty. Mind-bending stuff.
Until November 10. Free.

Cast in, cast out, Museum of Sydney

Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist Dennis Golding has cast Victorian-era iron railings with epoxy resin then installed them on the wall at the Museum of Sydney in a way that casts a dark shadow against a blue backdrop. The Sydney artist used his memories of the iconic railings in Redfern to bring a bit of the suburb to the city. He recalls his grandmother painted her railing a bright blue in juxtaposition to the grandeur of the colonial architecture. His exhibition also acknowledges displaced Aboriginal families who feel “cast out” by the gentrification of the area.
Until November 17. Free.

Julie Rrap: Past Continuous, MCA

Legendary Australian artist Julie Rrap has always used her body in her practice. This new exhibition charts her impact from the 1982 black-and-white photography of herself in Disclosures: A Photographic Construct to a new bronze sculpture cast from her 70-year-old body, called SOMOS (Standing On My Own Shoulders) (2024). You’ll also see a three-panel video work of Rrap drawing with charcoal. She films the experience with a Go-Pro strapped to her naked body. There’s also a video that places Rrap side-by-side with herself at different ages. It’s a conversation starter, about who gets to depict the female body and why we don’t see enough older women in art generally.
Until February 16. Free.

Mia Boe: The Aboriginal Robot, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

Butchulla and Burmese artist Mia Boe presents 12 to 15 new paintings blending science fiction with narrative painting to imagine a dystopian reality. The artist’s portrait of Barrabinya producer and TV presenter Tony Armstrong was selected for this year’s Archibald Prize, and her signature elongated limbs, fingers and toes in that portrait are emblematic of the style Boe brings to her first show at Roslyn Oxley9. The Melbourne-based painter’s works often respond to historical and contemporary acts of violence perpetrated on the people and lands of Burma and Australia.
From August 16 to September 14. Free.

Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum, AGNSW

Featuring over 90 works by the Sydney artist, charting five decades, this exhibition is a dazzling collection of geometric abstraction; colour, movement and rhythm are used to maximum effect by Dumbrell. It’s also a chance to see some of her early-career works, such as Red shift (1968) and the vivid Spangle (1977). It’s the first state art museum survey of her work, and visitors can see her art evolve from paintings and works on paper to a recent foray into water-jet-cut metal sculpture – including the debut of a new aluminium sculpture.
From July 20 to October 13. Free

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine, MCA

Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographs aim to freeze time to reveal various depths of humanity, distilling their subjects into “the essence of time itself”. In an exclusive-to-Sydney exhibition visitors can see a major survey of the Japanese photographer’s works spanning 50 years – including a famous black and white portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales and one of a polar bear and penguin taken at a diorama in the American Museum of Natural History in the ’70s that looks eerily real. Sugimoto likes to play with light, perception and optical illusions; he uses a large-format camera and mixes his own darkroom chemicals, exploring ideas and practices from 19th-century photography to create art instead of simply capturing what he sees.
From August 2 to October 27. $28.